the EVENTS...
Amazing weather first day in SC. Sunny, leafy, colorful, crisp. Came across a tiny backwoods bar, played music out front to an old lady named Romaine who gave us Mountain Dew and Pepsi. Met good folks P&D who trailered us down the mountain to their house 12 miles away. Ate Puerto Rican style dinner with their family, very impressed with their proactive dog training, played music fireside, talked until late about everything from God to medieval jousting. Slept indoors, stayed 2 days, went to a flea market, trimmed their horses' feet, and had a shrimp dinner. Given a sweet knife and an English style saddle, which Meadow really needed in order to not get rubbed. Thanks P&D.
A few miles down the road, 2 more fillings for Hannah - at no cost! Thanks PM. Slept in front yard of another nice couple, though watch out for the fire ants. Next morning, flat tire in the pouring rain, then the spare burst as well - worst morning yet. Nice guy, JW, drove Harvey to a store to buy new inner tubes, etc. Sun came out, played music for our lunch in a tiny, welcoming town called Liberty. To Norris, met S&J and their kids N and M. Music, food, brews, cutest children in the whole world, nice campsite, pasture and stall for Meadow. We were all living vicariously through each other.
Warm sunshine, blue sky, people that offer the horse water, wide shoulders on the road to Clemson... Stopped at bike shop just for a brake pad, met W, and conversation turned to building a whole new bike so Harvey could make it 10,000 more miles instead of 100 more. Played music downtown Clemson, cop asked us to leave - that's a first. Stayed at J's house, pony rides for all the nice college folks there. Back to W's house next morning, built an unbelievably sweet bike for Harvey over the course of a Sunday (post about The Bike yet to come). Thanks to W, for not just the bike, but the knowledge of its construction, repair, etc will make this trek so much easier.
Backtracked to hang with S&J and their kids for another day before moving on. Met A, who invited us to church in Seneca. Across lake Keowee, first 2 nights in Seneca were rough; sleeping beside the tracks proved a good learning opportunity for Meadow. Thanks C&C for being hospitable when no one else was. Second 2 nights were comfortable and friendly at Ch&R's house by the lake. Music jam, homemade chili, little yard for Meadow. Thanks Ch&R, the coolest "stalkers" ever. Hannah's much needed sleeping bag finally arrived in the mail. Meadow got a coggins too, thanks to Holland vet clinic. Ended up seeing A again at her church on Sunday - thank you, Tri County Worship Center, for your powerful prayers.
Met W and her son G, and stayed in their yard on our way to Long Creek. Had a nice birthday campfire for Harvey. Made good miles, even though we both felt a little under the weather. Next two nights, frigid cold and not very enjoyable, sandwiched the best day yet: Pete Ramey came by with supplies, boots, an incredible textbook and, best of all, a bright smile and smart encouragement about our trip. The knowledge he shared in fitting Meadow with boots and in critiquing her diet will make our time on the road that much better.
South again towards Georgia, met G and S&R at the "lighted house". Stayed in a rustic little cabin with a wood stove; got enough rest to finally start feeling better. Ate good food, played music, trimmed some goat feet, heard a few really inspiring stories. Can't thank G, S and R enough. Down the road to the GA line. Smart move, C&J, to check facebook and make sure we weren't sketchy. They showed us a good time at their beautiful farm; good food, good friends, another clean stall for Meadow, a warm dry bed on a cold rainy night.
Just around the corner, in Toccoa, GA. Found friends, J&Ch, outside ingles who fed us and let us stay in their fenced-in backyard, then treated us to Hardees the next morning. J, get out there and do some hiking! Attended the Salvation Army church the next day, invited by S. Her creative and brave children, L and A rode the pony like real pros. Thanks for the bracelets, too. L, who was also at the Salvation Army church, was the hero of the week, saving us from the longest, rainiest night of the trip. Thank goodness we were inside her house, with her warm company. God bless you, L. South to Athens next week.
the PROSE...
We've learned to be grateful and unattached to where we stay or what we'll eat, politely thanking those who turn us away. It's an act of trust in God that we will find what we need further down the road.
(Usually we'll write more, much more, in this section, but because of time constraints we'll leave it here for now and include specific stories from these weeks in future prose-only posts, if we can remember to do it.)
- FCF
Olive is a dog model, her beauty is exhausting and she's constantly stealing the visual show; it's not bragging, just fact
Meadow is learning to collect herself in the presence of a noisy train; also, her get-up is constantly getting upgrades, all the boys come running cause she's so fly
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